Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Score: 50% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: EA Games Developer: EA Bright Light Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 Genre: Adventure
Graphics & Sound: The fun of playing a Harry Potter game is running around the Wizarding World, casting spells and foiling Voldemort's latest scheme. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince features all these things, but also throws in a heavy dose of fetch quests and boring exploration. I normally spend as few words as possible on graphics, so when you get more than a short paragraph, you know something is either really right or really wrong. Half-Blood Prince combines semi-cel-shaded characters with pre-rendered, static backgrounds. The game looks okay, though this is a case where style would have won out over realism. I get that the artists were trying to convey the story's darker theme with dark graphics. What I don't get is why everything looks so bland and boring. The DS is never going to reproduce "real," so why not use some creative license? Backgrounds are composed of flat greys and browns, as are the characters. Half-Blood Prince manages to capture the scope and scale of Hogwarts, though elements like the shifting staircase make it feel like any other castle. Still, the attempt to squeeze every nook and cranny of Hogwarts into a handheld game is an ambitious one, so I credit the developers for trying. At the same time, I wonder how necessary endeavor was in the first place, especially when it hurts gameplay. Just because you can make a big castle doesn't mean you have to. Outside the familiar Harry Potter theme, I'm pretty sure none of the in-game music comes from the movies. Or, at least they didn't sound like anything I'd heard before. The soundtrack is okay, though the droning background music doesn't make the sluggish gameplay go any faster.
Gameplay: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is an adventure game, so expect a lot of running around and menial tasks. Everything in the game ties into item collection, so if that's your thing, you've just found paradise. Apparently the title of "Chosen One" not only means Harry needs to save everyone from Voldemort, but from their own laziness. Every student at Hogwarts is looking for some sort of magical widget and Harry is the only one with enough motivation and drive to find them. When it comes to the actual plot, Half-Blood Prince takes the "if you're playing it, you've read/ seen it" approach. This makes sense unless you find monotonous tasks enjoyable. There's a reason the book doesn't include Harry collecting ingredients for Potions Class or searching for student's misplaced items - they aren't fun. Main plot points (i.e. the ones fans want to play through) are summed up via short cut scenes, leaving you with Harry's chore list. Not that I didn't like the concept, I'm just not sure why EA went with the current setup when the much older Chamber of Secrets did it better. You still went through classes and fetch quests, but the pacing was upbeat and interesting. Nearly every quest and mini-game found in the confines of Hogwarts ties into collecting and trading objects. If you aren't on a search for Luna's glasses or the Quidditch team's gear, you're playing Exploding Snap (a simple memory game), Gobstones (marbles) or mixing potions (Cooking Mama). Sure, this sounds like a lot of great content, but you can ignore most of them once you gain Harry's second spell. At that point, you're just running from one end of the school to another delivering trivial items to students.
Difficulty: The tedium is made easier thanks to the Marauder's Map and Remembrall. The map displays a dotted line showing where you're going on the top screen and a directional arrow near your feet, so it is impossible to get lost. The map is really good about showing the quickest way around the castle. Even when I intentionally tried to throw it off, it always knew just where to send me. The Remembrall keeps track of what objects you need and who needs them. Your tasks may not be entertaining, but at least you'll never get lost. There are some exceptions, but most of the skill-based mini-games feature a massive safety net. Even bad performances are rewarded. When mixing potions you'll get a few extra vials, though even if you screw things up, you should have enough to trade with people. During Exploding Snap, you can usually just wildly tap on cards and easily best the target score. The same tactic works during duels. Scoring goals in Quidditch is easy. Even if you can't grab the Snitch, your opponent will rarely score enough goals to overcome the point difference.
Game Mechanics: Getting around Hogwarts is every bit as painful as completing the tasks found within its walls. Harry is controlled with either the D-pad or stylus. Neither works incredibly well. Of the two, the D-pad is the more precise. Everything is on a diagonal, so wrangling Harry across long distances is tough, not to mention painful on the fingers. The stylus is better suited for getting around wide-open areas, but it will sometimes take a few taps to get Harry going. The best method is a combination of both. However, the stylus is used for everything else in the game, like chatting with people and casting spells, so you'll likely end up sticking with just the stylus controls for convenience. Response issues also pop up when performing other actions. It usually takes a few taps to get someone to talk. Casting spells is just as problematic. Spells are context-specific, so tapping a bookcase and pulling towards Harry brings items to him. Occasionally, you need to hit a certain sweet spot on the object, otherwise Harry will walk or do nothing. Big objects aren't a problem, but some smaller ones get lost in the background, causing you to furiously tap and slash around an area until something happens. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is an all-around bad game. Even die-hard fans who dressed up for the midnight showing will grow tired of the endless fetch quests and dull mini-games. If you want to explore Hogwarts, go with the console version or re-watch the movies.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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